RT Journal Article
T1 Long-term dog consumption during the Holocene at the Sierra de Atapuerca (Spain): case study of the El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site
A1 Galindo Pellicena, María Ángeles
A1 Sala Burgos, Nohemi
A1 Gaspar Simón, Ignacio de
A1 Iriarte, Eneko
A1 Blázquez Orta, Raquel
A1 Arsuaga Ferreras, Juan Luis
A1 Carretero, José Miguel
A1 García García, Nuria
AB Evidence of dog consumption at the El Portalón de Cueva Mayor site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain) from the Holocene is revealed for the first time. The taxonomical and taphonomical studies of the animal bones from the El Portalón site have been carried out. The morphological and metrical analyses indicate that 130 dog bone remains have been identified from the El Portalón site, including from the Neolithic (NISP = 23), Chalcolithic (Pre-Bell Beaker Chalcolithic and Bell Beaker Chalcolithic) (26), Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age and Late Bronze Age (81). The anthropic evidence encompasses cut marks, fresh bone fractures, human tooth marks and fire modifications, thus constituting clear evidence of cynophagy, at least in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age levels in different contexts (habitat and funerary) from the El Portalón site (Atapuerca, Burgos). Furthermore, the fire alterations on two bone remains from the Neolithic suggest likely dog consumption due to the domestic character of the stratigraphical units where these bone remains were found. The taphonomic evidence suggests that domestic dogs were, at least occasionally, part of the diet of the humans who inhabited the El Portalón site, a fact that might be caused either by food shortages and hunger or as dog meat was considered as a delicacy.
PB Springer Nature
SN 1866-9557, ESSN: 1866-9565
YR 2022
FD 2022-04-06
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/71407
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/71407
LA eng
NO CRUE-CSIC (Acuerdos Transformativos 2022)
NO Unión Europea. Horizonte 2020
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO)/FEDER
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (MICINN)
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
NO Fundación Atapuerca
NO Junta de Castilla y León
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 abr 2025